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Monday, April 28, 2014

Number 1567: Tubby and the LIttle Men from Mars

Trust John Stanley to make a running joke out of the fifties fascination with flying saucers. Stanley made “little men” extra little so they could zip around and help Tubby without anyone spotting them. It led to an endless number of stories from Stanley’s inventive mind.

I have said before that Lulu, with the exception of her storytelling to Alvin, was usually grounded in the real world of little girls and boys. Or as real as any comic book characters can be, that is. Lulu and friends outwitted adults and each other, but unless I missed them there were no flying saucers in Lulu’s stories. Tubby had a life full of fantastic occurrences, ghosts, monsters, little men from Mars, which Tub took more-or-less for granted.

Several of the flying saucer stories are reprinted in Tubby and the Little Men from Mars, a Gold Key 64-page one-shot from 1964, from which I took my scans.


















6 comments:

Kirk said...

Funny stuff, but Stanly seems to have forgotten something. Gloria was once abducted along with Tubby to Mars. I know because I have that story in a collection. Without going into too much detail, the two of them end up on the Umpire State Building with a inanimate cat. More funny stuff.

Kirk said...

Me again. Re-reading this post, I see the comic is from 1964. The comic I describe where both Tubby and Gloria are abducted is from 1952, many years earlier, so these stories aren't necessarily sequels, though the Martians look a lot alike.

Pappy said...

Kirk, I haven't pinned down where "Any Size To Fit" originally appeared, or what year. I could not find the information in the Grand Comics Database.

Daniel [oeconomist.com] said...

The story appeared as “big and little” in Tubby and His Clubhouse Pals #1 (Oct '56).

Pappy said...

Daniel, I stand red-faced...(or I should say I sit) because I have the Tubby and His Clubhouse Pals squareback. Thanks for reminding me of where I'd read the story before.

Unknown said...

Where can I find it?